Erin Stockwell, MD, is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon who says she was drawn to the field because of its variety.
“I love that I’m not always working on the same part of the body. In a single day I can be operating on arms, or legs, or both.” Dr. Stockwell says, adding that she enjoys the immediacy of helping a patient she’s never met before when they come in through the emergency department. “It doesn’t matter who you are, if you broke your bone, I can use my skill set to help you.”
Growing up, Dr. Stockwell was always interested in math and science but hadn’t considered medicine until she volunteered at a hospital while finishing her undergraduate degree. She soon decided she wanted to be a doctor and then settled on orthopaedics after working in a hand surgeon’s office.
“I liked the casting and the fact that these were tangible problems that we could fix,” she says, adding that trauma entered the fold after a trauma surgeon invited her to watch a particular surgery. “Every day is different. I like that for the most part, I don’t know what’s on my schedule until the day starts.”
And while she often initially meets her patients in a stressful, chaotic environment, she still finds ways to connect with her patients. “While they are in the hospital, and when I see them in follow up in the clinic, I get to visit with them and explain what we did so far and what is next. I often use visuals to illustrate their injuries so they can better understand.”
Dr. Stockwell’s research interests are focused on clinical outcomes in fracture management.
